


Good Luck Getting Laid (And Other Things You Shouldn't Say)

by belladonna77



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-06-27
Packaged: 2018-02-06 00:27:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1837672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belladonna77/pseuds/belladonna77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Cassidy hadn't been the big bad of season 2?  Could he and Mac make things work?  This is a story of making things work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction/An Explanation

I always felt the main story arc of season 2 was out of left field. I know the writers have said that they have known Cassidy was Veronica’s rapist since season 1, but I always felt like it never really worked for me. So I’m retconning season 2’s arc. Cassidy was never a rapist and rather than Cassidy being the bus bomber, Woody Goodman was the bomber in an effort to silence the boys. That night on the top of the Neptune Grand was Veronica and Logan trying to talk Cassidy down from jumping off when he hears Woody has blown up the plane bringing him back to Neptune rather than face charges. Veronica breaks down when she thinks her father died in the explosion and in that moment, when Cassidy thinks no one is watching him, he jumps.


	2. Chapter 1

Cassidy had expected to die. He was surprised to find out he hadn’t jumped out far enough and hand landed awkwardly on the balcony on the floor below the rooftop level where he and Veronica had fought for his life. He’d broken both his legs and cracked some ribs when he landed. Cassidy had been rushed to the hospital to treat his physical injuries and then was shuttled off to a mental hospital to treat his depression. He’d been there for a month before Mac had been able to convince Dick to allow her to visit.   
“Cassidy?” Mac’s arms wrapped around him and he shifted in his wheelchair to shrug her away from him. Mac looked startled and pulled away from him. “Aren’t you happy to see me? Did you get the letter I sent? I’ve missed you.”   
Cassidy took the brake off his wheelchair and wheeled himself over to a window and looked out disinterestedly. He didn’t feel like talking and especially not to her. He could feel the pity radiating from her words and body language. He didn’t want to be pitied. He was sick of talking about his feelings and his motivation for what had happened. He hadn’t even read the letter she’d sent him. He’d shoved it under his mattress in the room he shared with a middle aged man named John.   
“Aren’t you going to talk to me? Are you mad at me?” There was desperation in her voice.   
Cassidy turned his head to look at her. She looked terrible. The colorful streaks in her hair were growing out. He realized he’d never seen that before. Mac was meticulous about that sort of thing. There were dark circles under her eyes and she’d grown smaller than ever. There was a part of him that felt badly about being the cause of her pain, but another part was annoyed. The annoyed part won out and he lashed out at her. “Mad at you? Why aren’t you mad at me? I left you alone in that room with no clothes. Nothing. How can you visit me and pretend like that never happened? You’re pathetic.”  
Mac’s eyes flashed angrily. “Pathetic? I’m not the one who tried to jump off the Neptune Grand and failed! I figured you were upset and weren’t thinking straight, but maybe you were just being an asshole.”  
“I’m an asshole? Well, I guess I’d rather be an asshole than some pathetic girl who can’t see that she’s not wanted anymore. Didn’t you get the hint when I grabbed all your stuff when you were in the shower? You couldn’t even turn me on that night. Don’t you understand that I wanted you to get away from me?” He grabbed her hand and pulled her close so he could whisper in her ear. “Don’t come back. I don’t want you here. “  
Mac pulled her hand back and appraised him. She seemed to be trying to decide if he was being honest with her or was just lashing out. She nodded; more to herself it seemed than to him, and in a daze said, “You’re right. It was a mistake to come here. I won’t be back.”   
And she did leave and she never visited him there again. He spent a year in the hospital getting help for his depression and counseling to help him cope with what he had gone through. By the end of his time there, Cassidy was packing up his things and found her letter. He had never really forgotten what had happened with Mac and his counselors had urged him to write her a letter and apologize for his behavior and explain himself, but Cassidy wasn’t one for talking about his feelings (it had been hard enough for him to discuss things with his counselors) and he’d put it off. He opened the letter and looked at Mac’s handwriting. He’d never actually seen her write out anything by hand and he was surprised to see how neat her handwriting was. The letter was obviously written shortly after he’d arrived in the hospital. It detailed how much she missed him and that she was hoping to convince Dick to put her on the list of his allowed visitors. She told him she didn’t quite understand why he had felt the need to gather all her belongings and leave her in naked and alone in the hotel room, but that she knew there were things going on with him that she hadn’t known about. She told him she forgave him and hoped they could move on from the incident. Then Mac went into detail about gossip she’d heard about various classmates from the beginning of that summer and what classes she was signing up for when she attended Hearst in the fall.   
Cassidy sighed and shoved the letter into his backpack. He’d ruined the one good thing in his life that he had. It was a few years before he’d be able to try again with her.


	3. Chapter 2

“You honestly don’t understand what I’m saying?”   
John’s voice was sarcastic and Cassidy took a long sip of the beer he was drinking before he replied, “I’m saying you’re wrong.”  
John sighed and began again. “Okay, you have been dating different women, but they’re all different aspects of the same woman. You got me?” Cassidy nodded and tried to focus his attention on the game that was being shown on the TV behind John’s head. He didn’t think he was going to like the way this discussion was going. “So who was the first girl you fucked after coming into the hospital?”  
Cassidy thought for a minute. His brain was feeling fuzzy from the two beers he’d already consumed. “Deb.”  
“Alright, Deb. So Deb was a heroin addict that had tried to commit suicide while in rehab which is why she was sent to the hospital where you and I were staying, right?” Cassidy nodded and John took that as a sign to continue. “When you think of Deb, what stands out to you?”  
“Her hair. She was always dying her hair funny colors.”  
“Do you know anyone else who used to dye her hair funny colors?” John spoke slowly like one would speak to a child. It annoyed Cassidy. He wasn’t a moron; he had skipped a grade in school and considered himself intelligent. It was the one thing he had over Dick and he prided himself on it.  
“Mac,” he spit out and pretended like he was fascinated by the ingredient label on the beer he was drinking so he wouldn’t have to see John’s smirk. “So what if they both liked to dye their hair? Teenage girls do that shit all the time. That doesn’t make them the same person. Believe me, Mac wouldn’t be strung out on heroin.”  
“Do you remember why you stopped dating her?”   
“Uh, her parents took her home, right?” Cassidy was lying through his teeth and he knew John would see through it. He and John had been roommates in the hospital together and had occasionally gone to the same group therapy groups. Strictly enforced early bedtimes had led the two to have some deep conversations about their lives and what had led them to the hospital.   
“No. Her parents took her for the day to buy some new clothes since she’d be moving back into the rehab soon. She got her hair dyed back to its natural color and you dropped her like a hot potato.”   
“Yeah, well . . . things hadn’t been going well with her.”  
John whooped with laughter. “Bullshit! You had sex with her that morning. That was so gross, I could hear you in that broom closet. You dropped her because you weren’t attracted to her without the tutti fruiti pink hair or whatever color it was that week. She didn’t remind you of Mac anymore.”  
Cassidy signaled the waitress at the bar to bring him another beer. Fuck it, he’d take a cab home tonight. He needed to be drunk right now. “Can we not discuss this?  
John shook his head. “No, we have to discuss this. Okay, the only chick I can think of that you were serious about was Molly. She was that hacker that you dated for a couple of years until she got busted for being involved with that Target security breach.”  
“Yeah, so?”   
“So? You would have stayed with her through that bullshit until she told you that she was cheating on you with a Russian mobster and that since he could afford to post her bail and you couldn’t, she was leaving you for him.”   
Cassidy was tired of this discussion and decided to connect the dots for John. “So you think that since Molly was a hacker and that Mac was involved with computers that means I was only dating Molly because she reminded me of Mac. That’s not true. I really liked Molly.”  
“What was there to like? She chain smoked and was mean to everyone, including you. She never paid for anything and expected you to take care of her. Weren’t there a couple of times when she told you she was pregnant just to fuck with you? Every time you spoke about her it was about how good she was with computers. That’s it. I don’t you ever telling me about a present for your birthday or Christmas that she got you. I don’t think I even remember her doing anything nice for you. You stayed with her because the hacking reminded you of Mac.” John paused for a second and then continued in a horrified voice. “Oh my god, was Mac that mean to you? You need serious help if she was.”  
The waitress brought a fresh round of beers to the table and Cassidy smiled at her briefly. The waitress winked at him and Cassidy suddenly averted his eyes. He still wasn’t comfortable with women and while he had been polite in smiling at her, he definitely wasn’t interested. Her blonde hair and elfin features reminded him too much of Veronica Mars. “No, she was really nice and very understanding about my problems. I just fucked it all up with my dysfunction.”  
“This is your chance to make things right. You’re moving back to Neptune and taking back Phoenix Land Trust from Dick, so find her and talk to her,” John said as he pulled out a few twenties from his wallet. He waved Cassidy’s credit card away. “Nah, this is on me. Think of it as a going away gift.”  
“And what? Tell her I’m sorry? What if she doesn’t forgive me?” That idea scared him the most. He’d thought of apologizing to Mac a million times and the thought of what she’d say to him frightened him.   
“You have to take that chance. Once you apologize to her, you’ll be free. You won’t be stuck dating all these chicks that remind you of her. Hopefully, she’ll take pity on you and she’ll fuck you. Then you’ll really get her out of your system.” John stood and shrugged on his jacket. “Are you ready to head home? Let’s share a cab. You’re paying for that.”  
Cassidy nodded and pulled out his cell phone to call a cab company. He couldn’t believe he was willingly moving back to Neptune. He really wasn’t excited by the idea, but he was sick of Dick fucking up with the company and losing money. It was time to make Phoenix Land Trust profitable again.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Dick Casablancas took a long puff from the vaporizer he was using to smoke marijuana and blew a large cloud of vapor into the air. “Check it out, I can make it look like a dragon! Hold on a second, just watch.”  
“Wait, are you trying to make the smoke look like a dragon or are you trying to look like a dragon with all that vapor?” Cassidy asked Dick as he waved away the cloud that had gathered around his head.  
Dick looked confused. “I’m not sure. I kept watching all these YouTube videos, but now you’ve got me all confused.” He took drew in another puff and blew it out. “What was that movie that just came out with the elves and the Hobbits and that bad ass looking dragon?”  
“Are you talking about The Hobbit?” Cassidy shook his head and continued unpacking the boxes in the beach house he was now sharing with Dick. “You know, I really think you should cut that out. You’re getting stupider by the day. How did you even get a license to smoke that stuff?”   
Dick winked at him as he pulled up the wetsuit that he’d tied around his waist. “I told the doctor I had problems with depression. He knew who you were and I cried a blue streak about our dad abandoning us, it was easy peasy.” Dick grabbed a handful of cereal from a box that had been sitting on the kitchen sink and popped it into his mouth. “Alright, I’m about to get wet. See you later, Beav.”  
Cassidy winced and glared at Dick. “Hold on, we need to talk about getting Phoenix Land Trust up and running again. I looked at the website yesterday and it’s a mess. What happened? You haven’t had anyone update it since it was created?”  
Dick gave Cassidy a piercing look. “You mean when Ghost World created it for you?”   
Cassidy pretended like Dick was making a big deal out of nothing and started to break down a box. “Yeah, since then. If we want people to take us seriously, we have to get that site updated. Do you have anyone working for us that can do that? Someone in the IT department?”  
Dick choked on the cereal that he was still eating straight from the box. “IT department? How many employees do you think we have?”  
Cassidy shrugged, “I dunno. Ten?”  
“Right now, it’s just me and this old lady that I hired as a secretary. I hired her because I was really starting to rack up the sexual harassment lawsuits.”  
Cassidy could feel his blood pressure starting to rise and he began to yell. “Are you kidding me? Two people work at the company? We should have had enough work for several employees! When I left, we were worth six million dollars! All my hard work is just down the drain?”  
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry, Cassidy. We’ll do whatever we need to do to get the company back up and running. I don’t want you to go jumping off the Neptune Grand again.” Dick seemed to be serious about that statement. “Listen, we’ll get Mac to do it again. I hear she still does that kinda stuff on the side.”  
Cassidy was surprised. “She doesn’t do that for her main job? I kinda imagined she’d made a business of it.”  
“Nah, she got a job working for Kane Software recently. I think she still does some of the cyberstalking stuff for Ronnie too. You want me to call her?” Dick pulled out his cellphone and began scrolling through his contacts.  
“Hold on, you have Mac’s number?” Jealousy welled up in him. “Why do you have Mac’s phone number?”  
Dick looked up from his phone smugly. “She and I got to be very close during college. We still run in the same circles. She hangs out with Veronica, I hang out with Logan. Sometimes it kinda gets to be double date-y.”   
Cassidy decided Dick had to be messing with him. There’s no way Mac would willingly hang out with Dick. He decided to call Dick’s bluff. “Yeah, you should call her,” he tried to say nonchalantly. “Go ahead.”  
Dick looked confused. “Right now?”  
“Why not?”  
“Cause she’s at work. I don’t want to interrupt her. I’ll just send her a text message.” Before Cassidy could press the issue, Dick had a composed a message and hit send. “There. She’ll get back to me soon.” Dick zipped up his wetsuit the rest of the way and plugged his phone in to charge while he was out surfing.   
Cassidy opened his mouth to say something and then shut it. There was nothing he could say. He’d just have to wait and see what happened.

 

Sitting in her cubicle at Kane Software, Mac watched her phone light up and saw she had a message from Dick Casablancas. She really hoped he wasn’t sending her another dick pic. Looking at the phone, she saw it was an actual message: Cassidy is back in town. We should talk.


	5. Chapter 4

Mac looked around at restaurant where Dick had finally agreed to meet her. It had taken a full day of negotiating via text to get him to a place that didn’t have a drive through. Leave it to Dick to go cheap on a woman he wasn’t going to be able to have sex with. Mac decided that this might happen if Dick thought he could have sex with her, he was a cheapskate with everyone but himself. She thought back to a birthday when they were still in college where he’d given her a $5 gift certificate to a fancy steak house. He’d apparently forgotten that she was a vegan. That was typical Dick. Mac knew Dick had arrived when she felt someone run his hands over her carefully coiffed hair. “Hey there, Miley Cyrus. What’s up?”

“Get your hands out of my hair, Dick!” Mac patted her hair and hoped it was still in place. “So, why’s Cassidy back? And why text me about it? Neptune’s a big place. I’m sure we don’t run in the same circles anymore. It’s been ten years since he and I talked. He doesn’t even think about me. I know I don’t think about him.”

Dick’s usually jolly demeanor faded. “Really? Not at all? I know that he still thinks about you. He had a hissy fit when he found out I had your phone number.”  
“Weren’t you the one who told me I was just his beard? That he didn’t care about me at all?” Mac had never let Dick really know how much his comments in freshman year of college had hurt her, but she couldn’t resist bringing it back up once it seemed like he was interested in playing matchmaker for herself and Cassidy.  
Dick realized he had some explaining to do to Mac. He knew that Cassidy cared about Mac. Once Cassidy had started therapy, the doctors had requested Dick attend a few of his counseling sessions. Apparently Cassidy had a lot of resentment about Dick’s treatment of him and he had wanted to confront Dick about it.   
*FLASHBACK*  
Dick walked into the room and sat down on the couch next to Cassidy. “So am I here to say sorry for treating you like a big brother?”   
There was a wad of tissues in Cassidy’s hand and he swiped it at his eyes before he turned his head and spoke to Dick. “Do you even realize how your treatment affected me? I never thought I could tell you about what was going on with Woody because I didn’t think you’d care! Or you’d accuse me of being gay and liking it!” Fresh tears welled up in his eyes and he turned his head away so that Dick wouldn’t see.  
Things suddenly became very real for Dick. For awhile he could pretend everything was okay and that this was all Cassidy’s problem and not his. Someone had hurt his brother and his brother didn’t feel safe telling him. It was too much for him and instead of addressing his part in the issue, he asked a question that he’d been wondering about since grad night. “But aren’t you gay?”  
Cassidy made a frustrated noise. “What? No! I had a girlfriend.”   
Dick looked at Cassidy incredulously. “Mac? Wasn’t she like your beard or something? You can’t tell me you were really into her.”  
Cassidy picked at the material that covered the couch. “I was into her,” he said softly.  
Vaguely, Dick remembered a drunken night telling Mac that she was just Cassidy’s beard and that he hadn’t cared about Mac at all. He really didn’t want Cassidy to find out about that, so he mentioned something he’d seen recently on the Hearst campus. “Hey man, I don’t want to steal your sunshine, but I think your girl is cheating on you. I’ve seen her getting pretty cozy with this guy who sells essays and tests to students at Hearst.”  
Despite the fact that he’d told Mac he never wanted to see her again, Cassidy’s heart lurched. He’d kinda hoped that despite what had happened between them, they’d find a way to be together once he’d gotten out of the hospital. Now it seemed that she’d moved on without him. “We broke up a few months ago. She can see whoever she wants.”  
“Okay, boys. We’re getting off topic. Cassidy, let’s discuss how Dick made you feel when he made fun of you when you were at the Spring Carnival,” the therapist broke in, trying to get them back on track.  
“No, Mac’s a topic that’s relevant to the Spring Carnival” Dick said. “Mac was his girlfriend and I humiliated him in front of her. I made him feel like a loser in front of someone he liked.” He turned to Cassidy. “It was wrong and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I know I was shitty to you.” He had expected Cassidy to say something mean to him or to hit him. For a second, it looked like Cassidy wanted to do both. Instead he curled into himself and started sobbing. Dick didn’t know what to do, so he reached out and hugged his brother.  
*End Flashback*  
Mac snapped her fingers in Dick’s face. “Did you get high before you came here? You shouldn’t be driving if you’re doing that.”  
Dick smacked her hand away. “Get your computer virus riddled hands out of my face.”  
“I don’t do that stuff anymore,” Mac huffed. She picked up the menu and started looking through it. “Why don’t you stop wasting my time and tell me what you want.” Mac turned the menu from back to front. “There’s nothing in here for me to eat! You couldn’t pick someplace that I could eat at too? I’m on a lunch break from Kane Software. Now I’m going to have to drink the kale smoothie I was saving for after yoga.”  
Dick flipped through the menu and pointed to the alcoholic drinks section. “Does being vegan mean you don’t drink alcohol? Have a pina colada. That’s got coconut milk and pineapple. It’s like a healthy shake. With alcohol.”  
Mac glared at Dick. She’d had enough and stood up. “I’m going. Tell Cassidy I’m glad he’s feeling better. And stop sending me pictures of your penis. I’m not interested.”  
“Wait!” Dick grabbed Mac’s wrist to keep her from leaving. “I’m an asshole. You know I am. I just wanted to tell you that we need help rebuilding the Phoenix Land Trust website. Since you built it, Cassidy was hoping you’d bring it back from the dead.”  
Mac sat back down. “Cassidy asked for me?”  
Dick shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It would be a small white lie and if he could bring Cassidy back together with Mac that would be a nice thing to do. Good karma, right? “Well, he wanted to ask you himself, but he doesn’t have any contact info for you. So I said I’d ask you, kinda smooth the way for him. I know you didn’t have an easy break up, but you’re the best and he knows it. Would you be willing to do it? We’d pay you. He just knows you do really good work.”   
Mac looked into Dick’s hopeful eyes. Something told her that she was being scammed in some way, but that was how she felt every time she agreed to do something for Dick. Could she work with Cassidy? It had been ten years and she’d dated other men since him. She’d had time to get over what happened. Besides, the Casablancas boys would pay her well and she did want to get some work done on the new condo she’d recently bought. She nodded. “Alright. I’ll do it. Pass my number on to Cassidy and tell him to send me a text when he’s ready to meet and we’ll set something up.” She grabbed her bag and stood up again. “And tell him that he needs to apologize to me. No insincere bullshit about he’s sorry he made me feel ‘that way’ and all that. He knows what he did wrong and he needs to apologize for it or I’m not doing anything for him.”  
Dick had always been scared when Mac truly got angry with him and nodded vigorously. “Yep, I will tell him that. I will use your exact words and he will be sorry when he apologizes, I promise. Scout’s honor,” he said as he made a cross sign over his heart.   
Mac walked away and called over her shoulder to him, “That’s not how the Boy Scouts do it!” She got back to her car and waited for Dick to exit the restaurant. Mac watched as Dick pulled his cell phone out and started to make a call. Turning on the latest piece of technology that she’d been designing for Kane Software, Mac’s interceptor scanned several frequencies before she found the one Dick’s phone was using.   
“Yeah, I just met with Mac. She said she’d do it.”   
“Really? That’s great!” It was the first time Mac had heard Cassidy’s voice in ten years and she hated to feel her heart skip a beat at the sound of it.  
“Bad news though, brochacho. She says you have to apologize and no insincere bullshit. You gotta really be sorry.”  
Mac heard Cassidy’s sigh. “Yeah, I was planning on doing that anyway.”   
A beeping noise broke into their conversation. “Listen, I just got a snap chat from Madison. I hope it’s another picture of her hairless cat.”  
“Madison Sinclair is caring for something besides herself?” Cassidy asked Dick incredulously and Mac laughed in spite of her anger with him.  
“Think of another name for cat that starts with a P and ends with a Y.” Cassidy made a disgusted sound over the phone and Dick cackled. “Yeah, you know what I’m talking about! I probably won’t be home tonight. Bye.”   
The conversation ended and Mac sat looked at the interceptor. She suddenly felt like she was back in high school sitting outside of the Casablancas house after Cassidy broke up with her, listening to his phone calls after he broke up trying to find a reason why he didn't want her. Mac didn’t like what Cassidy’s reappearance was doing to her. She’d had enough insanity for the day. She was going to call in sick for the rest of the day and go visit Veronica.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
“Did he have to move back to Neptune? I was so happy here without him.” Mac took the paper wrapped bottle she and Veronica had been sharing and took a big swig from it. They were sitting on some swings in a park near Logan’s beach house.  
“Well, it is his home town too. And he owns a business here.” Veronica took the bottle back from Mac and capped it. She didn’t want Mac getting too drunk. Perhaps just enough to start being truthful.  
Mac glared at Veronica. “So? I’ve been here longer. One: he’s younger than me, so he’s lived here less time. Two: He left for ten years and tramped it up in San Diego.”  
Veronica couldn’t contain herself. “‘Tramped it up’? According to Logan, he was living in a small condo down there and doing data entry for a friend that he met in the hospital. He says Cassidy lived like a monk.”  
Mac’s voice perked up. “Really?”  
“Mac, I love you, but I wish you’d admit to yourself you’re interested in him. It’s okay. Aren’t I the woman who’s dating a guy from high school who has ripped my heart out how many times? And I keep going back and asking for more?” Veronica took the bottle, screwed the cap back off it, and took a large sip. “Perhaps we need some more of this if we’re going to make it through the night.”  
“He was living like a monk, really? How does Logan know?” Mac pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and stared at it. “He hasn’t even text me yet. What’s he waiting for?”  
Veronica took Mac’s phone and put it in her purse. “Let’s stop waiting by the phone for text messages and really discuss what’s going on.” Mac looked sadly at Veronica’s purse and nodded. “Every time we have discussed Cassidy and how he stomped on your heart, we have never discussed what would happen if you and he wanted to try again. So?”  
Mac looked thoughtful and it took awhile to gather her thoughts. “I hated him for so long, Veronica. It seems like I mourned the loss of that relationship for a really long time. I didn’t let guys get close to me in a relationship for a really long time, you know? I never thought about a do over for us. It didn’t seem possible, especially once he moved down to San Diego.” Mac was quiet again for a moment. “We don’t even know what he wants now. He probably just wants me to fix up the website and then he won’t need me anymore.”  
“You don’t think what you two had was special?”   
Mac shrugged. “Obviously not if it’s taken him ten years to get back to me with an apology.”  
Veronica handed back the bottle of alcohol to Mac. “You might need this when I finish talking to you.” Mac raised her eyebrows and took the bottle from her. “Remember last month when Logan had a ton of people over Thanksgiving dinner? And you skipped it because you went camping with your parents?” Mac nodded. “Well, Cassidy was there. He tried to avoid me for most of the night, but I was finally able to get him to talk to me. Of course, me being me, I started asking him questions about how he was doing and what he was up to . . .”  
FLASHBACK  
Veronica watched Cassidy as he waited patiently for someone to lose the video game that Dick and Logan were playing, so that he could play the winner. It was odd. She hadn’t seen him in ten years and his mannerisms were still the same. In many ways, he was still the jumpy and insecure teenage boy she’d always known. In others, he was completely different. Now he looked into people’s eyes when they spoke to him and he actually initiated conversation. He also didn’t seem to be living in Dick’s shadow.  
Veronica sat down on the couch next to Cassidy and patted his knee. Cassidy jumped slightly and looked up at her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to ask how you were doing. I think it’s been ten years since I’ve seen you.”  
“Yeah, it’s been about ten years. I was meaning to talk to you tonight. I wanted to thank you for saving trying to save my life that night.”  
It had been a horrible night and Veronica hated thinking about it. She guessed that Cassidy did too. “Let’s not talk about that. How are you doing? What have you been up to?”  
Logan and Dick had started a new game. Cassidy gave a sidelong glance at Veronica and held up a finger to her as a gesture for her to wait a moment. “I said I wanted next game. This is bullshit!”  
Logan paused the game and Dick looked over and said, “You are talking to Veronica. Why don’t you just ask her about Mac and stop pretending like you have anything else you two want to talk to each other about?” Dick looked back and Logan. “Carry on.”   
Logan looked at Dick. “Not cool, man.” He unpaused the video game and mouthed an apology at Cassidy and Veronica.  
Cassidy turned to Veronica was a cautious expression on his face. “So how’s Mac?”  
“Pretty good.”  
“That’s good,” Cassidy nodded and picked at invisible lint on his jeans.  
“Did you have anything else you wanted to ask me about?”  
Cassidy turned his body to Veronica and gave her his full attention. “I’m moving back to Neptune in a month. I know the chances are high that I’m going to run into her. So I’m wondering how much she still hates me.”  
Veronica took in a deep breath. “Well, I’m not gonna lie. When you are discussed, kind words are not always used.”   
Cassidy nodded. “Yeah, I figured as much. I know I need to apologize to her, and I’m hoping you can tell me how receptive she’ll be.”  
“What’s your end game here, Cassidy? Do you want to apologize for being an asshole or is there something deeper at work?”  
Logan and Dick’s shit talking while they played suddenly got very silent as everyone in the room waited for Cassidy to answer. “Mac was the best girlfriend I ever had, but she came into my life at the wrong time. I was in a really dark place and I wasn’t able to give her what she needed as a boyfriend. I was horrible to her when I broke up with her and I know I need to apologize for that.”  
“So nothing else? Just an apology about that? Why not just send her a Facebook message or something? There’s nothing that you have told me you wanted to say that needs this important face to face conversation with her.”  
“Why are you so against me talking to Mac?” Cassidy was visibly irritated with Veronica now.   
“You weren’t the one that had to be there to pick up the pieces after you left her alone and naked in a room at the Neptune Grand! You didn’t even leave her with a cell phone so she could call someone to bring her clothes! And then, despite her being ‘the best girlfriend you ever had’, you break up with her in the most asshole way possible when she comes to visit you in the hospital. I’m the one that was there to help her through all of that. So you’ll excuse me if I feel a little protective of my friend.” The room was eerily quiet and Veronica gathered her things to leave. “I’m sorry Logan, I need to get out of here. I’ll stay at my dad’s house tonight.”   
*END FLASHBACK*  
“That’s it?” Mac asked Veronica.  
“That’s it,” Veronica confirmed.  
Mac fiddled with the chain that connected the swing to the swing set and said, “Do you think he was being sincere? Did he seem like he wanted something more?”   
Veronica shrugged. “I dunno. That’s for you to decide when he apologizes.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me about this when it happened?”  
“I didn’t know how sincere he was being.” Veronica looked over at her friend’s unhappy face. “I’m sorry, I should have told you. Do you forgive me?”  
Mac leaned over and hugged her friend. “Of course. You’re just looking out for me.”   
“Alright, then you can have this back.” Veronica reached in her bag and pulled out Mac’s phone. There was a bright light flashing. “Looks like you got a message.”  
Mac unlocked the screen. “Speak of the devil. It’s from Cassidy.”  
“How do you know?”  
Mac looked up from reading the message. “Because it says, ‘Hi, this is Cassidy’?”  
“Oh, cool.” Veronica waited while Mac finished reading the message. “What does Cassidy say?”  
“Uh, he wants to meet for drinks tomorrow night,” Mac said as she started typing a message back.   
“And are you going?”  
“Unless he changes his mind, yes. “ Mac grabbed the bottle from Veronica and took a large gulp. “Would it be wrong to go to this meeting drunk? I’m not sure I can handle meeting the first guy who broke my heart sober.”  
Veronica saw a police officer stop his car across the street from the park and figured he was coming to see what she and Mac were up to. “Mac, I know it’s been a rough day and you’re kinda very drunk, but there’s a police officer coming over here and he’s probably going to arrest us for drinking in the park unless we get out of here.”  
Mac nodded. “Let’s go.”


End file.
